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Author Topic: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties  (Read 7851 times)

Offline The Big Gimper

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1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« on: December 25, 2014, 02:50:33 AM »
One more before I take a holiday break.

This is the Bristol Belmont MK.I, a dedicated high altitude meteorological aircraft. It is based on the Bristol 138 but this version is powered by PW-R2800 known for its fuel economy and good for high altitude performance.

A 2nd seat was installed for the meteorologist. External scoops were added to collect air samples.









The donors were:

Frog Bristol 138
Monogram F8F for the nose and engine
Revell P-47D for the propeller
Academy Tempest for wheels and gear
Trumpeter H-5 for the rear cockpit glazing
Other scraps from spares bin

Dirty little secret: I had another engine in mind but I messed up the cuts so badly, I could not install it. So I scrambled to find a substitute and good fortune looked upon me and I found F8F front end fit almost seamlessly. I added sheet bulkheads to both the 138 and the F8F  to get a large surface area for mounting the F8F cowling.  :icon_sueno:

« Last Edit: December 08, 2015, 07:21:38 PM by The Big Gimper »
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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2014, 04:06:23 AM »
I like
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Offline KiwiZac

  • The Modeller Formerly Known As K5054NZ
Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2014, 04:02:26 PM »
Me too! That engine works really well, and the canopy looks excellent. Great work!

My only suggestion would be longer-span horizontal stabs?
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Offline finsrin

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2014, 05:16:05 PM »
Matched parts well, looks like RW :)
P-47 was my guess on prop.  Woulda got 1 out of 5.
Excellent landing gear surgery !
EPA could use it for more cow fart studies.

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Offline The Big Gimper

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2014, 11:47:51 PM »
Quote from: KiwiZac on December 25, 2014, 04:02:26 PM
Me too! That engine works really well, and the canopy looks excellent. Great work!

My only suggestion would be longer-span horizontal stabs?

Good call. I have two more 138s in the stash so I'll do that along with a bubble canopy.
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Offline The Big Gimper

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2015, 03:18:32 AM »
It's done. Yeah!!!!













If anyone says: Umm, Carl, I think you installed the R2800 engine upside down. I'll punch you in the nose. BTW I did.  :(

Bill of Materials:
Frog Bristol 138
Academy Tempest V Landing Gear Bays and LG. Warning: stay away from the Tempest V Landing Gear. Uber weak. I broke them twice. I had to add several sections of wire to keep it from collapsing.
Trumpeter H-5 Tail Gunner Glass
Wheels from the spares box. I think are for a P-47.
Academy P-47 propeller
Paint is Tamiya Spray Bombs.
AeroMaster Firefly MK.1 decals Circa 1946

« Last Edit: December 20, 2015, 03:37:06 AM by The Big Gimper »
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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2015, 03:50:57 AM »
Nice
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Offline TurboCoupeTurbo

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2015, 04:11:11 AM »
The upside down 2800 gives it a more unique look though.  I like it.
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Offline Camthalion

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #8 on: December 21, 2015, 05:46:06 PM »
very nice
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Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2015, 05:46:10 PM »
Quote from: TurboCoupeTurbo on December 20, 2015, 04:11:11 AM
The upside down 2800 gives it a more unique look though.  I like it.

I couldn't agree more!

Making this a weather plane is perfect! Makes me think weather planes would be a great subject for a group build...

Well done, Carl!

Brian da Basher
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Offline Gingie

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #10 on: December 24, 2015, 06:05:32 AM »
Nice one Carl!
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Offline apophenia

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #11 on: December 24, 2015, 09:45:22 AM »
Gorgeous! And I'd never has guessed that H-5 tail gunner glazing  ;D
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Offline elmayerle

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #12 on: December 24, 2015, 09:48:15 AM »
Quote from: Brian da Basher on December 23, 2015, 05:46:10 PM
Making this a weather plane is perfect! Makes me think weather planes would be a great subject for a group build...
Hmm, perhaps Air Weather Service markings transposed from a B-47 to a B-58?

That's a beautiful piece of work, Carl.
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Offline uncle les

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #13 on: December 24, 2015, 10:33:26 AM »
Nice...   I rather like the transplanted u/c bays and as everyone knows, the Belmont had a unique installation arrangement with the 2800 due to improvements made for high altitude flying...  something about icicles, ambient air density and hydraulic distillation.....   looks good !
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Offline The Big Gimper

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #14 on: December 24, 2015, 07:24:25 PM »
Thank you all. There is something to be be said about building the older, less over-engineered kits. Dragon being on the other end of spectrum.

@elmayerle. I had not though of using AWS markings but you have very good idea. Lucky or not I have two more 138s in the stash. Lets see what I can do in 2016.
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Offline elmayerle

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #15 on: December 25, 2015, 01:35:14 AM »
Quote from: uncle les on December 24, 2015, 10:33:26 AM
Nice...   I rather like the transplanted u/c bays and as everyone knows, the Belmont had a unique installation arrangement with the 2800 due to improvements made for high altitude flying...  something about icicles, ambient air density and hydraulic distillation.....   
Undoubtedly something to do with ultrafine ice particles at altitude getting through the stock air filtration system and affecting engine performance just when you need it the most.
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Offline Dr. YoKai

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Re: 1/72 Bristol Belmont MK.I High Altitude Meteorological Duties
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2015, 10:13:40 AM »
 The Bristol 138 is a nice platform for whiffing, indeed - this is a lovely build.
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